Saul Olzman v. Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc.Saul Olzman v. Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc.
This appeal is from the grant of summary judgment against plaintiffs who allege racially discriminatory operation of a swimming club. The appellants include members of the Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc. (the club), as well as representatives of a group of black children from Roslyn, Long Island, New York, who were invited by those members to use the facilities of the defendant club as guests of the plaintiff members. The action was brought in August, 1969, but was not decided by the court below until February 15, 1978. The appeal did not reach us for about a yeаr and thus we are to consider the serious questions involved some five years after the event on the basis solely of affidavits submitted and available to the court below. The suit claims violation of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, Title 2 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
The defendant club was incorporated in April, 1960, under the Membership Corporations Law of New York (repealed in 1970 and replaced with the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, McKinney’s Consol. Laws, c. 35) to operate a private, non-profit swimming pool with associated facilities and amenities for the use of members living in the community known as Lakeville Estates Park in East Hills, New York. At the time of this formation, Lakeville Estates was under development and was one of several developments in the incorporated Village of East Hills. In December, 1960, at the request of persons interested in the club, the Village of East Hills adopted an ordinance amending its zoning law to provide that a building and lot of land could under certain conditions be used for a swimming pool and accessory purposes “by an association or membership corporation (all directors, officers, and members of which shall be resident owners of real property within the Village) and which is not conducted for profit or gain . . . .” The ordinance provided that any permit granted under it to a club could “prescribe reasonable rules and regulations for the operation, maintenance and use of such swimming pool and any accessory structures.” In February, 1961, the board of trustees of the Village, after making certain findings, granted a temporary permit to the defendant club conditional on several bases, including the requirement that the membership bе limited to 100 bona fide residents of the incorporated Village of East Hills.
1
The club acquired pool property which includes a swimming pool, a parking area, related wading pool and bathhouse, with a little snack bar at which snacks and soft drinks can be obtained and which operates at a loss. The club has no liquor license and does not serve meals. All of the members do come from East Hills, and all but a few of them from Lakeville Estates. Under the club bylaws, acquiring membership requires the paymеnt of $2,000 and withdrawal from membership involves a partial loss of the membership investment, even though a new member paying the full fee acquires the retiring member’s membership. The bylaws also permit members who sell their residences to transfer their certificates of membership to the new owners without the necessity of approval by the
I.
The first question is whether the club is genuinely private within the meaning of
Appellee argues that because the club is open only to 110 residents and their families out of 2,300-odd homeowners in the community of East Hills, it is not open to the general public and hеnce should fall within the exemption of
II.
Having determined that plaintiffs’ claim is not foreclosed by
All the plaintiffs are present or, in the case of Olzman, former members of the club except plaintiffs Terry and Hilton. Plaintiff Terry is pastor of a Baptist church in Roslyn Heights, and his congregation includes the black children who have been barred from using the club’s pool under the circumstances hereinafter set forth. Plaintiff Hilton is a parent of some of the Roslyn children who have been prevented from the use of the pool as guests of club members.
The dispute began early in June, 1968. As might be expected, the affidavits are not consistent, but apparently plaintiff Olzman invited a business associate to bring a group of black children to the pool on a Saturday. This plan apparently bore no fruit but later attempts to invite black underprivileged children from nearby Roslyn through the Rev. Mr. Terry were more successful. Apparently after the first “day the children were brought in” a meeting of the executive board discussed how to deal with the problem of underprivileged children as guests. 9 The focus of discussion was how to keep the underprivileged children out, and there were numerous suggestions. One person suggested that all guest privileges be eliminated. Another suggested that underprivileged children and adults not be admitted as guests. It was asked why these children did not go somewhere else. Later it would be suggested that the club pay for the children to be taken somewhere else, so as to keep them from using the pool. There was a motion to redefine “guest” as a relative or friend of a member and to exclude individuals or groups from public or private charitable or benevolent organizations “without regard to race, color or creed.” This motion was carried. Some, however, suggested that there was a possibility for compromise between what were fast becoming entrenched opposition groups. And, indeed, compromise was reached. Those wishing to bring the underprivileged children in as guests would be allowed to do so each Monday morning during this one summer, Monday being the day when the pool was least used, but this would be the only day of the week they could do so. This “arrangement” brought a measure of quiet to the club which was being rent apart by this dispute. As the сourt below put it, the meetings and exchanges, “in which everyone put forward his worst foot, were full of recriminations, rich in objurgative expression on both sides and replete with competing claims of ‘liberalism’ and ‘private club.’ ” In less euphemistic terms, one side claimed that the other was expressing an intent to keep the “nigger kids” out, while the other side hotly denied any such thing.
In any ease, the dispute was at least put off by the “arrangement.” During the summer of 1968 at the pool, all went
Subsequently, however, a committee was formed to make revisions in the bylaws generally. This committee divided into a majority group which wished to vest the power to make rules concerning guests in the board, and a minority group which wished to provide in the bylaws that members could invite guests of their own choosing. The majority carried the day, and the bylaws vesting the power in the board were adopted on March 24, 1969. The directors established a Rules and Regulations committee which drafted a new set of guest rules which were in turn adopted by the board on May 12, 1969. There were a number of changes in the guest rules, but most striking was the addition of three new sections — as the first three sections of the rule — which have the effect of denying the plaintiff members from inviting underprivileged children to the pool as they had done the year before under the then existing rules. The first change was to define “guest” as being limited to a friend or relative of a member. Next, it was stated that no member would be entitled to “include among his guests any group or groups of persons in concern and in conjunction with other members . . .” without permission from the board. Finally, no individual was allowed to be a guest more than twice in a season.
More or less contemporaneously, Camp Unity, apparently the formal name attached to the group from which the black children had been invited, applied to the board for permission to use the pool on a once weekly basis during the six week period from June 30 to August 8. The pool was sought for the hours of 10 to 12 in the morning for about 15 children and five counselors. The board discussed Camp Unity’s request and then voted on it, nine of the 11 members voting to deny the request. At a general membership meeting several members attempted to have a vote taken by the membership regarding Camp Unity’s request, although it was acknowledged that such a vote would be only advisory to the board. Finally on July 21, 1969, plaintiff OIzman requested permission of the board to bring ten black children from Roslyn to the club on Thursday, July 24, indicating that his request was not an isolated act but was intended to become a continuing practice. The board after advice from counsel offered to allow the use of the club on two Mondays, July 28 and August 11, to OIzman and his associates. OIzman never replied to this offer, but instead began this action shortly thereafter.
From these facts essentially two questions emerge: (1) whеther a prohibition against bringing black guests to a. pool club involves any rights protected by
Section 1982 provides that all citizens shall have the same right as white citizens “to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property.” While the condition of being a guest is not normally considered a “property” right one can “hold,” there-is authority and justification for considering it such under § 1982. As the Supreme Court stated in the pivotal case of Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.,
To be sure, there is an overlap of
Section 2000a(a) states that
All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the . facilities, privileges, advantages ... of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination . on the ground of race. .
Thus, if the Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc., is a “public accommodation, as defined in this section,” a rule prohibiting guests on the basis of race would be prohibited by
The above discussion goes to establish only the answer to the first question, whether
The court below found that nothing in the formal structure of the club bylaws or rules and regulations was discriminatory on its face. Accepting that as true arguendo, however, we are far short of the analysis we are called upon to make by a number of cases.
Cf.
Griggs v. Duke Power Co.,
In addition to the possible discriminatory
effect
involved in the guest rule change is the possibility of a discriminatory
intent
in adopting a facially neutral role.
See
Hawkins v. North Carolina Dental Society,
direct consequence of [the] intraclub controversy occasioned by the 1968 bringing of black children to the club. There can be no doubt that the invitations extended with club approbation in 1968 occasioned the change in Rules and Regulations . . . . [I]t is indubitably the fact that the change in the Rules and Regulations was precisely intended to prevent a repetition of the group invitation of 1968.
The court below, however, apparently viewed the change in the rule as to groups of guests as not discriminating racially, even if racially inspired, because it treats groups of blacks and whites alike. Upon remand this view should be reexamined in the light of the realities of the situation, including the fact that the ultimate decision as to who may be invited apparently rests in the discretion of the board of directors, not in the rule itself. The court should determine whether only black children have ever sought permission of the board to be guests as a group and whether only one “group” of black children has been invited to the club. That is to say, however racially neutral the
Summary judgment for defendant vacated and cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Notes
. In June, 1962, the permit was amended, however, to provide that the club could accept membership to the extent of 110 such residents of the village, though it appears that there were in fact only 100 members at the time of decisiоn below.
. The provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to a private club or other establishment not in fact open to the public, except to the extent that the facilities of such establishment are made available to the customers or patrons of an establishment within the scope of subsection (b) of this section.
. All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.
. Membership in the Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc., is restricted to residents of East Hills both by virtue of its own bylaws, the conditional use permit under which the club operates, and the zoning ordinance under which the permit was issued.
. Membership in the club is restricted by the conditional use permit to 110 bona fide residents of East Hills, while the bylaws apparently restrict membership to 100 members only.
. A Membership Committee is chosen by the board of directors of the Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc., from members of the club outside the board to consider applications and to recommend to the board acceptable applicants. There is no indication that any applicant has ever been rejected.
. Article VI, Section 7, of the Bylaws of the Lake Hills Swim Club, Inc.
.
. Under the guest rules then in effect members were allowed to bring up to two guests a day before July 1 and after August 23, and no more than four guests a day between those dates. The plaintiffs, by pooling their guest privileges, were thus able to bring more than enough children to the pool. Moreover, there was evidence that it was common practice for a member to utilize another member’s guest privileges in addition to his own in order to bring in more guests than he would be allowed alone. There was a $2.00 fee per guest per day on the wеekdays, except that between July 2 and August 22 Tuesdays and Wednesdays were free guest days. Guests were required to be accompanied by a member and the member bringing the guest was responsible for him.
. It should be sufficient to note that implicit in the Supreme Court’s statement in
Tillman,
.
On the question of standing, it is enough to say that the plaintiffs who are present members have standing as did the Tillmans on behalf of their guest, Mrs. Rosner,
. It is not to be supposed that Congress in enacting a law to eliminate racial discrimination in public accommodations would have intended a narrow interpretation of “affecting commerce.” Rather we may view that intent as embracing a broad, liberal construction that would reach the constitutional limits of the commerce clause.
Accord,
Miller v. Amusement Enterprises, Inc.,
. Affidavits by plaintiffs allege, e. g., that members were heard trying to figure out liow to define guest so as to preclude blacks; that the present president of the club and former executive board member said, “If the majority do not want blacks— than the minority should accept that”; and that the husband of the secretary of the club said, “Who the hell are you to bring niggers into my pool?” Other allegations are even more explicit.